National destiny: Starting with a coffin, building an aircraft carrier is broadcast live globally.

The tall double doors leading to the cabin were ajar, but the hinges were rusted shut.

The wooden door panels were covered with a mixture of rotten organic matter and salt deposits.

Let alone Klaus, even Renyi doesn't really want to touch him.

He used his scimitar to pry open the door from the crack, and ended up prying off a piece of the door panel.

"..."

"Mr. Renyi, let me do it."

Aurora stepped forward without any hesitation and opened the door just wide enough for one person to pass through.

Renyi and Klaus exchanged a glance for a second.

Look at them!

"I'm an engineer, not a doorman!"

He shrugged casually and walked in first.

Contrary to the expected musty smell, the air inside the cabin was filled with a mixture of dampness and the aroma of some strange spices.

The three of them stopped in their tracks at the same time.

This place... was once an extremely luxurious banquet hall, and on the long, decaying tables around it, there are still overturned metal candlesticks and broken goblets.

In the center of the banquet hall was a smooth dance floor, and at the far end was a stage with a large, heavy, tattered curtain that was so black that its original appearance was no longer visible.

But that's not what catches their eye.

What captivated their attention were the hundreds of skeletons piled up on the dance floor!

...They were stacked layer upon layer, each with a different posture.

Some people died from multiple fractures caused by being trampled.

But more often, the chest, neck, or skull were pierced by "weapons"—

Knives, forks, a broken wine bottle...

These ordinary things at the banquet became the murder weapons that killed them!

The sound of wind was coming in through the broken porthole from somewhere.

Sobbing and whimpering,

It seems to be telling the story of a hasty massacre that happened long ago.

[I'm stunned... This is even more thrilling than a horror movie...]

[Could this be some kind of large-scale cult sacrifice?]

What exactly happened to this ship? It doesn't feel like a simple pirate attack.

[Judging by their attire, they were all nobles and celebrities. Were they all taken down at the ball?]

Just as everyone was speculating about the cause and effect,

Suddenly, a song rang out.

It is ethereal, melodious, and technically brilliant... every turn of the note is breathtaking, carrying a magic that seems to recreate the last splendor.

"Behind the scenes!"

Klaus determined the soprano's position.

But they didn't get a chance to meet the "singer" backstage, because at that moment, the mountain of bones in the middle moved.

"Click—"

A subtle, crisp sound served as a signal.

One after another, pale hand bones emerged from the gaps in the pile of bones.

"Click...click..."

In just over ten seconds, the sound of bones grinding and colliding was like popcorn bursting open, and the skeletons picked up their weapons—

Those weapons that killed them themselves,

Twisted dinner knives and sharp shards of glass were pulled out one by one from the eye sockets, the cervical spine, and the empty chest cavity.

In that magnificent yet mournful high note

Hundreds of skeletons dressed in tattered medieval aristocratic robes turned towards the three of them.

The scene wasn't actually that scary.

It's more like... they've stumbled into a bizarre dreamscape, a banquet exclusively for skeletons.

"...Shall we go first?" Klaus asked almost in a whisper.

This sentence was like flipping a switch.

Before any response could be given, the ethereal soprano suddenly rose another key, like an invisible conductor's baton.

The half-closed door behind them slammed shut with a "click."

Hundreds of skeletons, brandishing a jumble of weapons, charged toward the three people at the entrance.

He casually raised his rapier, ready to meet the enemy.

Surprisingly, no one paid any attention to him.

The skeletons ignored his presence and surged towards Klaus and Aurora from both sides!

Klaus rolled awkwardly to the side, avoiding the broken bottle that was aimed straight at his face.

Clang!

With a single swing of [Chasing the Light], a skeleton's arm was severed, but the arm that fell to the ground grabbed a shard of glass and tried to stab Klaus's calf!

Aurora on the other side is also struggling.

Her scimitar was powerful and heavy, each strike capable of sending a skeleton flying, but it couldn't withstand the opponent's lack of martial ethics; for every one that fell, three charged forward.

"What's going on? Sexism... that doesn't make sense either!" Klaus gritted his teeth and crushed the hand bone.

"Get behind me!"

He casually used his scimitar to deflect a fork aimed at Klaus, then reached out and pulled Aurora behind him.

Klaus quickly moved behind Renyi.

As expected,

When only one of them is facing the skeleton, their movements stop.

"Why?" Klaus stared warily at the Skull Sea.

He quickly glanced around.

At the far left of the banquet hall is a spiral staircase leading to the upper cabins, which appears to be in relatively good condition.

The lower deck of the ship was already dilapidated from the outside and was likely already submerged. Running upwards was the only way out.

"Let's leave here first and go to the spiral staircase. Walk close to the wall."

This is undoubtedly a suggestion that severely tests both teamwork and mindset.

The three of them carefully crept along the wall toward the spiral staircase, with Renzi at the back, separating Klaus and Aurora from the skeletons.

[Grass (a type of plant), what's the underlying principle?]

[What kind of new tactic is this? A human centipede...]

[Don't talk nonsense, this is clearly a humanoid walking peace dove!]

The calm lasted for a moment.

The singing continued tirelessly.

The skeletons, seemingly captivated by the beautiful song, appeared to be mesmerized. One skeleton, dressed in a tuxedo, tapped his foot on the ground—

My shoe fell off.

Immediately afterwards, the noblewoman skeleton beside it swayed, its distinctly knuckled fingers symbolically lifting its skirt and twisting it in a crooked circle.

"Click, click."

The sound of bones rubbing together is added to the accompaniment.

In an instant, the skeletons, who had been asleep for who knows how long, seemed to have their instinct for pleasure awakened. Some spun around in place, some pulled at each other, and some even held their skulls in their arms as dance partners.

The entire banquet hall had truly transformed into a bizarre and fantastical ball for the dead.

"..."Ծ‸ Ծ

Klaus felt that his cognitive system was being impacted.

"Let's go," Renyi urged in a low voice.

While the skeletons entertained themselves, the three sped up their progress.

Soon the spiral staircase came into view.

But then, a skeleton dressed as a waiter sauntered out from the side.

Perhaps they were particularly hardworking oxen and horses while they were alive.

Even though it's turned into a skeleton, it's still carrying a plate and trying to serve food. In its left hand is a broken wine bottle, and in its right hand is a corkscrew.

The two groups of people were both taken aback when they met on the narrow road.

The waiter skeleton raised the bottle opener and lunged at Aurora, who was at the front.

A hand reached out like lightning.

With a precise grasp of its wrist and a gentle pull, without moving its body, it gracefully spun around in place.

Waiter Skeleton: ?

Aurora & Klaus: "⊙o⊙"

[? ? ? ]

[Holy crap! Ballroom dancing, huh!]

[Boss: Come on, let's waltz.]

[Damn it! That damned manners!]

Before the waiter skeleton could react to what was happening, Ren Yi had already let go and gently pushed it from behind using the force of the rotation.

"Thump."

The waiter skeleton stumbled into the crowded dance floor and was immediately pulled into the revelry by several enthusiastic skeletons.

"Hurry up!"

With a low shout, the three of them rushed up the spiral staircase.

The horde of skeletons surged forward again, crowding together on the narrow staircase, yet still relentlessly pursuing them.